Martial Arts Pavilion, Secret Technique Hall, Cultivation Technique Storage...
Looking at the stores selling martial arts techniques and cultivation technique manuals, Qin Niu casually chose the most popular store and walked in.
He had heard that even the most common cultivation techniques sold for no less than Two Silver Money.
In the past, he had only dared to stand outside and enviously gaze in.
The cultivation technique manual store he entered was called "Supreme Sea," and unlike other stores that usually had just one storefront, it boasted five. Its scale was five times larger than that of a regular store, surely housing a much richer collection of books.
After entering, Qin Niu saw rows of specially made bookshelves.
On them were locked oval crystal covers, within which sat individual manuals, with some content introductions engraved on the outside of the casings.
At the prominent spot of each bookshelf, there was an exquisitely made wooden sign, with white background and red characters, listing the type of manuals.
Martial Arts, Cultivation Techniques, Insect Control Techniques, Beast Taming Techniques, Planting Techniques.
These were roughly the five categories.
Cultivation Techniques and Insect Control Techniques each only occupied one bookshelf, making these two categories the scarcest.
The profession of an Insect Master was already somewhat obscure, deemed a poor man's job.
While breeding insects was cheap, the difficulty of nurturing and evolving them was high, and their combat strength relatively weak. Compared to beast taming, the chances of rising to prominence were much lower.
For instance, to subdue a female termite within Qin Niu's termite colony, it was essential to seize the most opportune moment, forming a contract with her right after her nuptial flight but before she laid her eggs. Otherwise, the moment she started laying eggs, she would instantly upgrade to a Grade Two insect, and the cost to subdue her would increase tenfold.
If her first batch of eggs were allowed to hatch, subduing her would become nearly impossible.
Subduing a Grade One female termite and subduing an entire termite colony were not the same concept at all.
After great hardship, the third female termite Qin Niu subdued finally advanced to an Ant Queen, forming a low-level ant colony. The success rate of such an event was roughly three in ten thousand.
Even so, his ant colony was now so weak that a three-year-old child could easily crush them.
If what you subdued was a wolf, it could immediately guard the home and protect the yard, and dealing with one or two grown men would be no trouble at all.
Subduing insects, with their low success and return rates and short lifespans, were reasons why the profession of an Insect Master was lesser-known.
Those who become Insect Masters or Beast Tamers do so with the intention of earning money or battling with the help of their pets.
No poor person would be foolish enough to spend a few Silver Money on raising insects for fun.
That being said, although raising insects was hard to succeed in, there were countless examples of insects that, once cultivated well, increased their master's worth by a thousand or ten thousand times.
Qin Niu approached the cultivation technique bookshelf, where many people were already gathered to choose and buy cultivation techniques.
A boy around ten years old stood nearby, with a broad forehead and a square face, wearing a white long shirt made from satin. His eyes casually swept over the crystal casings.
When Qin Niu stood beside this boy, he actually felt a terrifying aura that made him shiver.
It was even more dreadful than the pressure brought on by the soldiers at the city gates.
He couldn't help but take a astonished look at the boy.
Despite the boy's serene composure, his expression exuded confidence that seemed to come naturally from the heart.
This was a display of confidence built on great strength and solid backing.
He wondered whose noble son this was, to have such formidable cultivation at such a young age.
It was said that the children of the wealthy began cultivating while still in the womb.
Not only would the pregnant women consume various tonic goods and Spiritual Medicines, but they would also employ experts to expend their cultivation energy to clear the meridians in the fetus and nurture its sinews, bones, and internal organs. Such a child would be born with extraordinary talent.
Once they were weaned after birth, they would be supplied with all sorts of blood food and Spiritual Medicines, and have personal tutors to teach them breathing exercises and cultivation methods.
Children of poor families might still be naive and ignorant at ten years old, helping their parents with farm work every day or working for landlords as Attendant Students.
But children from wealthy families at that age would have already completed the initial transformation of cultivation and could even be stepping into the threshold of cultivation.
Sometimes, it has to be said, choice outweighs effort.
As long as you're born into a good life, you can save yourself at least fifty years of struggle compared to others.
"Attendant Student, would you kindly fetch that Cultivation Technique for me."
The young man appeared to have made his choice.
An Attendant Student quickly walked over and retrieved the Cultivation Technique the young man had pointed out.
"Young Master, you truly have a keen eye. This Dragon Chant Technique is a superior cultivation method, which, once mastered, grants you the mighty power of a dragon and an extended breath of life, adding a hundred years to your lifespan without question."
Rather than handing over the Cultivation Technique to the young man, the Attendant Student held it and proceeded to the counter.
"Please come to the cashier, Young Master, to complete the purchase. This Dragon Chant Technique will then belong to you. The selling price is five thousand Silver Money."
Qin Niu was so startled by the price of this Cultivation Technique, he nearly wet himself.
Five thousand taels!
He had thought that an item worth five hundred Silver Money, like the Hundred-Tempering Black Armor, was already astonishing.
Now he realized he was still too naive.
The selling price of a single Cultivation Technique was ten times that of the Hundred-Tempering Black Armor.
Such an expensive technique could probably not even be afforded by a big landlord like Yan Ruohai! The Yan Family might have to sell off their properties just to buy it.
However, if one managed to master the Dragon Chant, possessing the mighty power of a dragon, they might be able to walk sideways in Black Tiger City.
Cultivating this technique and extending one's life by a hundred years was also incredibly tempting.
That would be twice Qin Niu's current lifespan.
"I need to make money, I need to buy superior cultivation methods!"
He shouted in his heart, the thought of making money more intense than ever.
Looking at this ten-year-old boy, he was truly green with envy.
Many of the Cultivation Techniques on the shelves were actually one-of-a-kind, secrets, once sold, no more would be available.
Copies of Cultivation Techniques were known as Fake Cultivation Techniques, commonly found at black markets and street stalls.
It must be noted, when buying Cultivation Techniques, one must purchase the original. Even a slight deviation in a copied Fake Cultivation Technique could lead to a huge mistake. At best, practicing Fake Cultivation Techniques results in slow progress in cultivation, and at worst, it could cause one to suffer demonic deviation.
Take this Dragon Chant Technique, for instance, the cost of paper and ink isn't expensive, but the person capable of writing this Cultivation Technique must surely be a powerful individual who has mastered the Dragon Chant.
Such individuals hold prestigious statuses.
The techniques they create with such dedication naturally won't come cheap.
After the Cultivation Technique shop purchases them at a cost, they definitely will resell at a higher price!
Buying at three thousand taels and selling at five thousand is quite a normal profit margin.
Another point worth mentioning is that, for instance, if ten powerful practitioners all cultivated the Dragon Chant and succeeded, their writings would result in ten different versions of the technique.
Theoretically, the stronger the master who writes the technique, the better the Cultivation Technique.
But for cultivators, choosing the most compatible Cultivation Technique is the right decision.
If the version of Dragon Chant you purchase does not align well with you, it will significantly increase the difficulty of cultivation. The higher the compatibility, the easier it is to succeed in cultivating it.
Qin Niu dared not even look at the Cultivation Techniques on the second level of the bookshelf.
As for the top layer, there's no need to mention it. The gentleman earlier bought one and it was not expensive, only five thousand taels. Even by selling himself, Qin Niu couldn't make up the amount.
The price of the Cultivation Techniques on the second shelf is generally more than a hundred Silver Money each.
Qin Niu subconsciously touched the Silver Money in his bosom, lamenting that you only realize you don't have enough when you need it!
Then he might as well pick a technique from the first layer. The cheapest goes for two Silver Money per book, with the most expensive around forty or fifty.
Here, Silver Money doesn't equate to money, it's like soil.